Mental Health and Recovery in the Gulf Coast After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
- Richard H. Weisler, MD;
- James G. Barbee IV, MD;
- Mark H. Townsend, MD
- Author Affiliations: Departments of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Duke University Medical Center, Durham (Dr Weisler); Department of Psychiatry, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans (Drs Barbee and Townsend).
- Corresponding Author: Richard H. Weisler, MD, Department of Psychiatry, UNC-CH/Duke University Medical Center, 700 Spring Forest Rd, Suite 125, Raleigh, NC 27609 (rweisler{at}aol.com).
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
- KEYWORDS:
- DELIVERY OF HEALTH CARE
- LOUISIANA
- MENTAL HEALTH
- MISSISSIPPI
- NATURAL DISASTERS
- PUBLIC HEALTH
Hurricane Katrina was the most devastating natural disaster in US history. Large parts of New Orleans and nearby Louisiana parishes were destroyed. About 90 000 square miles of the Gulf Coast, an area roughly the size of Great Britain, was declared a federal disaster area. The often contaminated flood waters covering much of New Orleans for almost 2 months contained a mix of raw sewage, bacteria, millions of gallons of oil, heavy metals, pesticides, and toxic chemicals, raising health concerns for residents and cleanup workers.
As recently as June 19, 2006, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials estimated that as many as 2.5 million Gulf Coast residents may have been displaced from their homes by hurricanes Katrina and Rita; this number is based on FEMA applicants whose mailing addresses were outside of their home ZIP code and the assumption that each applicant represents an average of 2.5 people.1 Although more …
